Wild Grass

Karl Oskar
Where once there was wild grass
Now there’s a wheat field
This land was waiting for me
Was waiting its hour!

Where once there was nothing
No law, no power
This land of prairie and pine
I made it flower!
With this naked pair of hands
I made it mine

There was another song
I knew it well
The song of steel on rock it sang –
It rang of hell
And when there came a time
When hope was gone
We loaded up the wagons
We moved on
From that barren, stony ground

Settlers
Barren, unforgiving ground

Karl Oskar
We loaded up, and we were
Westward bound

The earth lay quiet here
Since time began
Through all Creation waiting here
The coming of man
No axe rang in these woods
No sign of toil
Until I put my spade to work
And dug into this rich, black soil

Settlers
Where once there was wild grass
Now there’s a wheat field
This land was waiting for us
Was waiting its hour
Nojd
You got something for nothing
Settlers
Where once there was nothing
No law, no power
We spilled the sweat of our brow
And we made it flower
Yes, we made it flower
Karl Oskar
I watched my father fight
Those cruel stones
I saw him crippled at the end
They broke his bones

But here the plow runs deep
The roots reach low
A man stands taller here
His children grow
What we’ve done I will defend

Settlers
What we’ve done we will defend

Karl Oskar
Yes, what we’ve won I’ll fight for till the end

The earth lay quiet here
Since time began
Through all Creation waiting here
The coming of man

No corn grew in these parts
No cattle grazed
Now there’s no field that goes unploughed
The children we have raised
They do us proud
The Lord be praised
Settlers
The fruit of the harvest
The roof I raised here
The logs that fell to my axe
What am I to blame for?

Nojd
Nothing you feel some shame for?

Settlers
We came for a new life
To find a future
With just the shirt on our backs
We found what we came for

Nojd
And you burned down the wild grass
Settlers
Where once there was wild grass
There is abundance
And yes, we’re proud of the fact
That we have dug and tilled
And drilled and hacked

Karl Oskar
We ask no favor
We ask no pardon
We found a wilderness here
We planted a garden
Where once there was wild grass!